Sonny Rollins - On Impulse

 

Acoustic Sounds Series reissues from Verve/Universal Music Enterprises!

Monthly releases highlighting the world's most historic and best jazz records!

Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes

180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets

Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds

Click to see the Acoustic Sounds Series

"If anything, Sonny Rollins on Impulse! feels as if it were a recording Rollins had to get out of his system. But thank goodness for us because it's a winner through and through." — AllMusic

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' new audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

In 1965 and 1966, tenor giant Sonny Rollins issued three albums for the Impulse! label. They were his last until 1972 when he re-emerged from a self-imposed retirement. Here on this July 8, 1965 date, Rollins attacks five standards with a quartet that included pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Mickey Roker.

Rollins digs deeply into pulse and rhythm, leaving melody to take care of itself. AllMusic says "This is not a 'new thing' date but instead focuses on playing according to the dictates of the rhythm section and on interchanging with Booker and Roker, leaving much of the melodic aspect of these tunes to Bryant. Rollins could never quite leave the melody out of anything he played because of his intense gift as a lyrical improviser; he nonetheless stripped his approach back and played tunes like 'On Green Dolphin Street' by improvising according to theme rather than strict melody, where his interplay with the rhythm section becomes based on the dynamic and shifting times played by Roker. While things are more intimate and straight on 'Everything Happens to Me,' he nonetheless plays the edges, filling the space like a drummer. Melody happens throughout, the tune is recognizable, but it is stretched in his solo to a theme set by the shimmering cymbals and brushed snare work of Roker. The oddest cuts in the set are the last two; spaced out readings of 'Blue Room,' and 'Three Little Words'; they sound as if he were preparing the listener for a true change in his approach.

"Melody gets inverted, with spaces and syncopation taking the place of notes. The swing is inherent in everything here, but it's clear that the saxophonist was hearing something else in his head, the way he squeezes notes tightly into some phrases where they might be placed elsewhere, and substitutes small, lithe lines inside Bryant's solos which dictate the harmonic intervals more conventionally with his singing approach. And speaking of rhythm, the album's hinge piece is the burning calypso 'Hold "Em Joe.' Here again, as Bryant's changes play it straight, Rollins shoves his horn inside them and draws out the beat on his horn over and over again."

Side A

1. On Green Dolphin Street

2. Everything Happens To Me

Side B

1. Hold 'Em Joe

2. Blue Room

3. Three Little Words

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 3 person(s) rated this product.

Outstanding depth and cleanness posted on 07/01/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: David B. I just bought a few titles in the series and this is the first to be played. If they are all as good as this I have hit on a sonic goldmine. The music is superb of course but I really wanted to comment on the quality of the products which is premium through and through, except for the price which is extraordinarily reasonable. The clarity and heft of the cover is phenomenal - perhaps the best in my collection. And the clarity, depth and cleanliness of the pressing is incredible. It reminds when I bought a TV that claimed to have the blackest black. What does that even mean I wondered until I saw it and realized the depth of colour it presented. This to me is the audio equivalent. Absolutely silent background on which a very present yet still rich soundscape emerges. A revelation. Congratulations to all involved.

Beautiful everything posted on 06/30/2021 5 Stars Reviewer: David There are a handful of great reissue companies these days, but I can't think if a more consistently great company as Analogue Productions/Acoustic Sounds. This record sounds absolutely fantastic. The music I've already have loved, but the mastering, pressing and jacket are really well done. I wish this series never ended...

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